Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head, Coin from United Kingdom

Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head, Coin from United Kingdom (demonetised 1971)

Coin	Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head

A gold coin (19 mm diameter with plain edge) featuring the Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria wearing imperial crown and facing left, a long veil falls behind the head, the bust is draped and decorated with the Star of the Garter, and also the badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India; around, VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, the artist's initials J.E.B. below the shoulder.

On the reverse, a garnished shield, crowned and lined, around, BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF: and below 1887, the mint mark (if any) at the middle of the date.

Mint	Mint mark	Total Mintage
Royal Mint London	No mint mark	872,567, Rarity: N (Normal)
Sydney Mint	Letter S	134,000, Rarity: N (Normal)
Melbourne Mint	Letter M	64,000, Rarity: S (Scarce)

Obverse
The obverse features the Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria wearing imperial crown and facing left, a long veil falls behind the head, the bust is draped and decorated with the Star of the Garter, and also the badge of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India; around, the legend VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, the artist's initials J.E.B. below the shoulder.

Obverse Inscription	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA

Reverse

Crowned and garnished shield quartered with the arms of England (1 & 4), Scotland (2) and Ireland (3); around, the monarch's legend BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF:, the date 1887 is below divided by the bottom of the shield.

Royal Mint London coins do not have a mint mark. The mint mark for branch mints (S for Sydney Mint or M for Melbourne Mint) is below the shield dividing the date. No die number, unlike earlier coins of the type.

Reverse Inscription	BRITANNIARUM REGINA FID: DEF: 1887

Edge	Milled	Edge Inscription	None

Notes

Mintage figures for the Melbourne Mint and the Sydney Mint are totals for "Young Head" and "Jubilee Head" half sovereigns minted in 1887 in these mints; the mint reports do not distinguish mintage between these types.

The Royal Mint London only produced "Jubilee Head" half sovereigns this year.

The "ordinary" Royal Mint London sovereigns for 1887 with the "Jubilee head" obverse are taken to be of the type listed in Spink as 3869 (normal designer's initials JEB).

The "ordinary" Sydney Mint sovereigns for 1887 with the "Jubilee head" obverse are taken to be of the type listed in Spink as 3871A (small close JEB), same as "Normal JEB" in McDonald (?): McD 032a

The "ordinary" Melbourne Mint sovereigns for 1887 with the "Jubilee head" obverse are taken to be of the type listed in Spink as 3870 (small spread designer's initials JEB), same as McDonald 033 (?).

References to additional information:

[Book] Marsh, Michael A. The Gold Half Sovereign. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Coins, 1982. pp. 13-40.

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Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head: Known varieties

Variety	Proof FDC (Royal Mint London)
Mintage	Issued: 797 (included in total)
Details	Type S-3869.
Variety	Proof, normal (Sydney Mint) S-3871A
Mintage	Issued: unknown. Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare)
Variety	Proof, plain edge (Sydney Mint)
Mintage	Issued: unknown
Variety	Proof, normal JEB (Melbourne Mint) McD 033
Mintage	Issued: unknown
Variety	Proof, small spread JEB (Melbourne Mint) S-3870
Mintage	Issued: unknown. Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare)
Variety	Proof, close JEB (Melbourne Mint) S-3870A
Mintage	Issued: unknown. Rarity: R3 (Extremely Rare)
Details	Close spacing of designer's initials JEB. McD 033c, S-3870A.
Variety	Normal JEB (Melbourne Mint) McD 033a
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Normal J.E.B. (designer's initials). McD 033a.
Variety	Close JEB (Melbourne Mint) S-3870A
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Close spacing of designer's initials JEB. McD 033c, S-3870A.
Variety	Small Spread JEB (Sydney Mint) S-3871
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Small spread of J.E.B. (designer's initials). Spink 3871.
Variety	Close JEB (Sydney Mint) McD 032b
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	Close spacing of J.E.B. (designer's initials). McDonald 032b, not in Spink.
Variety	Platinum pattern (Melbourne Mint) McD 033b
Mintage	Issued: unknown. Rarity: R7 (Highest rarity possible, 3 or less examples known)
Details	Reeded edge proof, in platinum. Probably unique. First sold by Sotheby's in London in March 1903. For a long time it was thought to be silver, and is listed as such in many catalogues (e.g. Renniks 1966, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1649 - 1971). McD 033b.
Variety	Close JEB (Royal Mint London) S-3869A
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Variety	No JEB (Royal Mint London) S-3869C
Mintage	Issued: unknown (included in total)
Details	No designer's initials on neck truncation.

Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head: References to Information Used

Source	Edition	About	Link	Notes
Museums Victoria Collections	2016	Coin description	link
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins	1971	Mint		Royal Mint London
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	1965	Mint		Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins	1971	Mintage		Royal Mint mintage
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	1965	Mintage		Sydney Mint and Melbourne Mint mintage
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes		Varieties		Varieties on the spacing of the designer's initials; Platinum proof
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins	1971	Varieties		Proof (Melbourne and Sydney)
Museums Victoria Collections	2016	Varieties	link	Plain edge proof Sydney

All (100) coins of type: Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal)

Coin Name	Mintage	Effigy	Legend
Half Sovereign 1817	2,080,197	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1817
Half Sovereign 1818	1,030,286	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1818
Half Sovereign 1820	35,043	Portrait by Benedetto Pistrucci (Laureate Head)	GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA 1820
Half Sovereign 1821	231,288	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1823	224,280	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1824	591,538	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1825	761,150	King George IV - Laureate Head	GEORGIUS IIII D: G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1826	344,830	Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1826
Half Sovereign 1827	492,014	Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1827
Half Sovereign 1828	1,244,745	Portrait by Jean Baptiste Merlen	GEORGIUS IV DEI GRATIA 1828
Half Sovereign 1831 (Proof only)	unknown	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1834	133,899	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1835	772,554	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1836	146,865	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1837	160,207	King William IV - Bare Head	GULIELMUS IIII D:G: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D:
Half Sovereign 1838	273,341	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1838
Half Sovereign 1839 (Proof only)	1,230	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1839
Half Sovereign 1841	508,835	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1841
Half Sovereign 1842	2,223,352	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1842
Half Sovereign 1843	1,251,762	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1843
Half Sovereign 1844	1,127,007	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1844
Half Sovereign 1845	887,526	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1845
Half Sovereign 1846	1,063,928	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1846
Half Sovereign 1847	982,636	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1847
Half Sovereign 1848	410,595	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1848
Half Sovereign 1849	845,112	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1849
Half Sovereign 1850	179,595	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1850
Half Sovereign 1851	773,573	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1851
Half Sovereign 1852	1,377,671	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1852
Half Sovereign 1853	2,708,796	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1853
Half Sovereign 1854	1,125,144	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1854
Half Sovereign 1855	2,391,362	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1855
Half Sovereign 1856	2,391,909	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1856
Half Sovereign 1857	728,223	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1857
Half Sovereign 1858	855,578	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1858
Half Sovereign 1859	2,203,813	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1859
Half Sovereign 1860	1,131,500	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1860
Half Sovereign 1861	1,130,867	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1861
Half Sovereign 1862	unknown	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1862
Half Sovereign 1863	1,371,574	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1863
Half Sovereign 1864	1,758,490	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1864
Half Sovereign 1865	1,834,750	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1865
Half Sovereign 1866	2,058,776	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1866
Half Sovereign 1867	992,795	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1867
Half Sovereign 1869	1,861,764	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1869
Half Sovereign 1870	1,159,544	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1870
Half Sovereign 1871	2,242,970	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1871
Half Sovereign 1872	3,604,627	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1872
Half Sovereign 1873	2,092,084	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1873
Half Sovereign 1874	1,884,432	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1874
Half Sovereign 1875	768,240	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1875
Half Sovereign 1876	2,785,187	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1876
Half Sovereign 1877	2,337,482	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1877
Half Sovereign 1878	2,081,941	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1878
Half Sovereign 1879	255,201	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1879
Half Sovereign 1880	1,089,049	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1880
Half Sovereign 1881	104,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1881
Half Sovereign 1882	158,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1882
Half Sovereign 1883	3,090,457	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1883
Half Sovereign 1884	1,181,756	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1884
Half Sovereign 1885	4,479,871	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1885
Half Sovereign 1886	120,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1886
Half Sovereign 1887 Young head	198,000	Queen Victoria - Young Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA 1887
Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head	1,070,567	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1888 (Proof only)	unknown	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1889	64,000	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1890	2,266,023	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1891	1,233,286	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1892	13,680,486	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1893 Shield	4,536,649	Queen Victoria - Jubilee Head	VICTORIA DEI GRATIA
Half Sovereign 1893 St George	4,677,398	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1894	3,794,591	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1895	2,869,183	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1896	3,165,551	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1897	3,798,156	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1898	2,878,527	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1899	3,459,103	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1900	4,799,668	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1901	2,037,664	Queen Victoria - Veiled Head	VICTORIA · DEI · GRA · BRITT · REGINA · FID · DEF · IND · IMP ·
Half Sovereign 1902	4,343,580	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1903	2,753,057	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1904	1,777,470	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1905	3,023,993	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1906	4,635,482	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1907	4,233,421	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1908	4,964,622	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1909	4,240,831	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1910	5,497,881	King Edward VII - Bare Head	EDWARDVS VII D: G: BRITT: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1911	6,490,243	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1912	6,502,316	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1913	6,094,290	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1914	7,573,124	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1915	3,196,630	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1916	448,000	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1918	unknown	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1923 (Proof only)	655	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1925	946,615	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1926	806,540	King George V - Bare Head	GEORGIVS V D. G. BRITT: OMN: REX F. D. IND: IMP:
Half Sovereign 1937 (Proof only)	5,501	King George VI - Bare Head	GEORGIVS VI D : G : BR : OMN : REX F : D : IND : IMP.
Half Sovereign 1953 (not released)	unknown	Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait	ELIZABETH II DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REGINA F: D: +

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Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head: Details

Country	United Kingdom
Currency	Pound Sterling (pre-decimal)
Coin Type	Half Sovereign (Pre-decimal, Shield)
Issued	1887
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Effigy	Queen Victoria - Portrait by Joseph Edgar Boehm (Jubilee Head)
Face Value	1/2 (x Pound)
Total Mintage	1,070,567 (1.1 million)
Current	No; demonetised 1971
Material	0.9167 Gold
Designer	Jean Baptiste Merlen
Technology	Milled (machine-made)
Shape	Round
Size	19.3000 mm
Thickness	0.9900 mm
Mass	3.9940 g
OCC ID	DANM-QOPY-CNGA-EJYG

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Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head: Photos

Image	Details
	Great Britain 1887 1/2 sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's-Bowers Notes: Royal Mint London. Proof. Source
	Great Britain 1887 1/2 sovereign Copyright: CoinFactsWiki / CC BY-SA Author: Stack's-Bowers Notes: Royal Mint London. Proof. Source
	Gold 1/2 sovereign, London (England) Copyright: American Numismatic Society / CC BY NC Notes: Royal Mint London. Source
	Gold 1/2 sovereign, London (England) Copyright: American Numismatic Society / CC BY NC Notes: Royal Mint London. Source
	Proof Coin - Half Sovereign, Australia, 1887 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Sydney Mint. Proof, plain edge. Source
	Proof Coin - Half Sovereign, Australia, 1887 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Naomi Andrzejeski Notes: Sydney Mint. Proof, plain edge. Source
	Coin - Half Sovereign, Victoria, Australia, 1887 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source
	Coin - Half Sovereign, Victoria, Australia, 1887 Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Notes: Melbourne Mint. Source

Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head: Catalogue Reference IDs

Source	Reference ID
Marsh, The Gold Half Sovereign	478 (Royal Mint London)
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World	Great Britain 251 (Royal Mint London)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Great Britain KM# 766 (Royal Mint London)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3869, 3869A, 3869C (Royal Mint London)
Marsh, The Gold Half Sovereign	485 (Sydney Mint) and 48 (Melbourne Mint)
Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World	Australia 22 (Sydney Mint) and 21 (Melbourne Mint)
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins	Australia KM# 9 (Melbourne Mint and Sydney Mint)
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom	3871A, 3871 (Sydney) and 3870, 3870A (Melbourne)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 032a (Sydney), McD 032 (SS), McD 032b (Close)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McS 032c (Sydney Mint, Proof plain edge)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 033a (Melbourne), McD 033 (SS IEB)
McDonald, Australian Coins and Banknotes	McD 033b Platinum Proof (Melbourne Mint)
Renniks, Australian Coin and Banknote Values	H32 (Sydney Mint) and H33 (Melbourne Mint)

Relevant Links

Museums Victoria: Proof Coin - Half Sovereign, Australia, 1887 (Sydney Mint)

Museums Victoria: Coin - Half Sovereign, Victoria, Australia, 1887 (Melbourne Mint)

Tax Free Gold: Half Sovereigns For Sale: Victoria 1837 - 1901

American Numismatic Society: Gold 1/2 sovereign, London (England)

Half Sovereign 1887 Jubilee head, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information